Where are we now

Hi Everyone! As you know, I have taken over as President and as one of my new duties, I am writing my first president’s message. I feel a lot of responsibility taking on this leadership role in such a long-standing club, but I also have a lot of enthusiasm about how we can continue to do fun activities together and also ways we can  improve and grow.

So far this year we’ve had some great events, including the Welcome Back Borrel, which was a lot of fun. For the current members, we conducted some club business including voting in the new members of the board, myself included, and then afterward we had snacks and drinks and met some new people as well. We started the “Welcome Back” borrel originally after coming out of Covid lockdown, but it applied just as well to catching up after the holiday season, and I think it’s a nice new tradition.

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Yolonda van Riel, Tilburg International Club President

Where are we now

I sit with mixed emotions as I type out my last president’s message for TIC. The privilege of serving on the tic board has greatly enriched my life as an expat. As I reflect on my tenure as president, I am truly grateful for all the amazing people I have met and experiences I have shared with all of you. We had some challenges along the way – from trying to recruit board members, finding new things to offer members and perhaps the biggest challenge of all – learning how to navigate virtually through corona
lockdowns!

With each of those challenges, came even bigger rewards. Welcoming new internationals, scoping out different places to hold events, late night meetings with my fellow board members and delivering goodies to everyone’s home during corona times are only a few of the things I will miss from being on the board.

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Yolonda van Riel, Tilburg International Club President

Where are we now?

Hi everyone! I’m typing out this edition of the president’s message with more enthusiasm than I have had in quite some time. The sun is finally shining, I’m sitting in my real office and I attended a tic event (in person) over the weekend. It feels like the clouds are beginning to part and we are emerging smarter, happier, and more appreciative of the “little things”.

While day to day life begins to settle into the old routine, it is also a chance to change that routine into something that works better for ourselves and our family. Maybe that is hybrid or remote working. Perhaps it is finding joy in new hobbies we picked up during lockdown. It could even be something as simple as taking a few minutes of each day to be appreciative of all we have in our lives. Whatever that new normal means for you, I hope you can take full advantage of making it work in your life. (more…)